Decision to take Islamic preacher to court ‘vindicated’
'It confirms that the days when Jewish communities and the Jewish people can be vilified and targeted with impunity are long gone'.
“This case was not about freedom of expression or freedom of religion; it was about antisemitism and the abuse of those freedoms to promote antisemitism,” said Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Peter Wertheim.
It took Justice Angus Stewart less than 15 minutes to deliver his ruling that Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad had breached the racial discrimination act by portraying Jews as ‘vile’, ‘wicked’ and ‘descendants of apes in pigs’ in a series of lectures posted online.
Haddad himself missed the bulk of his sentencing after arriving late to the NSW Federal Court, with his supporters shielding him from the rain and cameras with umbrellas. Despite being ordered by the court to remove the lectures from social media and pay the legal costs of the case, Haddad appeared unapologetic as he left court.
Speaking to reporters following the judgement, Wertheim said he assumes Haddad will honour the court orders.
“I’m assuming that he will get legal advice that in this country, court orders are binding on everybody,” he said.
“If not, then we’re going to be back here in a contempt case.”
Proceedings were launched against Haddad by Wertheim and Goot when, “it became evident that the responsible authorities in Australia could not or would not act to protect vulnerable members of our community from hate mongering, threats and violence,” said Wertheim.
“That decision has been vindicated by the judgement that has just been handed down. It confirms that the days when Jewish communities and the Jewish people can be vilified and targeted with impunity are long gone.”
Goot said freedom of expression, “must not be abused by the promotion of hateful antisemitism, and those that wish to do so, should know that that conduct will not be tolerated”.
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